SPRINGFIELD - Recent fires blamed on gasoline-hoarding in the eastern part of the state and elsewhere are fueling fears that it could happen here.

Earlier this month in Dartmouth, fumes from gasoline stored in office water-cooler-type jugs started a fire inside an apartment, officials said. No one was injured in the blaze.

"All of us have felt the pinch of skyrocketing gasoline prices, but hoarding gasoline and storing it in the home is not a solution," said State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan this week.

A similar fire stemming from gas-hoarding recently erupted in Schenectady, N.Y.

"If it happened, there are probably other people doing it and even more thinking about it, and that is scary," said East Longmeadow Fire Chief Richard J. Brady.

"We are just hoping to get the word out to the public just how dangerous it is to store gasoline," said Jennifer L. Mieth of the state Fire Marshal's Office.

It is not only dangerous - it is illegal. State law, surprisingly to many, prohibits the storage of more than a quart of gasoline in any part of a building used for human habitation, including attached garages.

This means that pretty much everyone with a snowblower or lawn mower in an attached garage, along with the attendant gasoline containers, is in violation of the law.

Rest assured, however, that investigators of the state Fire Marshal's Office do not plan on conducting garage surveillance operations any time soon, said Mieth.

The regulations, she said, have been in place for a "very long time" - long before attached garages became prevalent.

Even people with detached garages or sheds, however, may not be off the hook from a strict interpretation of the law. Up to one gallon of gasoline may be stored in such structures, providing they are at least 50 feet away from the house, said Mieth.

Gasoline, she noted, is such a ubiquitous part of our lives that "we forget to give it the respect that we should."

Springfield Fire Department spokesman Dennis G. Leger said the department has yet to encounter any problems with gasoline hoarding.

Gasoline can pose problems when fighting garage fires, he said. Instead of exploding, gasoline tanks or containers typically just fail in the heat of a fire.

"The fuel spills, and it leads to the rapid growth of the fire," Leger said. "Everything gets consumed."

Speaking of the law, he said it can be difficult to comply with, considering that some lawnmowers have one gallon tanks.

Westfield Deputy Fire Chief Mary R. Regan said she, too, has yet to hear of gasoline hoarding in the area.

While many people probably have a gallon or more of gasoline in attached garages, the department's biggest concern is that it be kept in approved safety containers, she said.

Regan stressed that the vents on such containers should be kept closed.

"The warmer it is, during these hot and humid days, there is going to be a lot more expansion," she said. "If the vents are open, that's going to be a problem. The container should be completely closed."

Mieth said it is illegal to dispense gasoline into anything but a vehicle or an approved container.

Water jugs, she added, are not approved containers.

Gasoline or other flammable petroleum produced may be transported without a permit in any open vehicle, or in a compartment in an enclosed vehicle separate from the passengers, according to state regulations.

Such quantities are not to exceed 21 gallons, with no individual container exceeding seven gallons, regulations state.

Regan said the law means that gasoline may not be legally transported in vehicles, such as sport utility vehicles, that do not have trunks or other enclosed compartments. 